Celebrate World Environment Day with Family

The current pandemic might have started purely as a world-wide health crisis, but has since had a considerable impact on several spheres of society, for example, care arrangements, work-family balance, gender equality and other aspects of family life.

On 1 June, the world celebrated the Global Day of Parents, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. The day is observed annually, to honour and appreciate parents across the world for their selfless commitments and lifelong sacrifice towards their children. It is commemorated in partnership with civil society, particularly involving young people and children.

In 2020 the UN evaluated the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family (1994-2014), as well as moving beyond towards the 30th anniversary, in 2024. The evaluation focused on new and emerging issues related to parenting, as well as parenting education. It encourages governments to explore and invest in policies and programmes that are family-oriented, and to build strong intergenerational interaction and parenting education – providing tools to enhance children’s well-being, while promoting intergenerational solidarity and social cohesion,.

As children of all ages, we can take time to express our gratitude and respect for our parents, create gifts for them, cook or bake for them, watch a favourite film together, or bring the family together to discuss thoughts and exchange ideas on different topics.

On Saturday, 5 June, World Environment Day focuses on ecosystem restoration, under the theme ‘Reimagine. Recreate. Restore.’ This year also marks the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. Ecosystems are the interaction between all living organisms, between plants, animals, people and their surroundings. Ecosystem restoration means preventing, halting and reversing the damage that ecosystems have suffered. It is a global endeavour to revive planet earth, from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the sea.

There are several ways that families can spend time together, explore topics related to the World Environment Day and actively engage in fun and rewarding activities. Some of them are created by TISB students.

Our Grade 10 student, Ameya, recently started an initiative called ‘SustainAbility’, aimed at spreading awareness, information, and practical solutions among individuals and families for sustainable living. Ameya encourages discussion and sharing of information, as he believes that when one person spreads information to two others, it creates an exponential change in attitudes and behaviour. This week, Ameya took part in an online talk with an NGO and Rotary Bangalore, where he presented on how to reduce bio-medical waste during the current situation. If you are interested, read the whole story about Ameya and his initiative on our website; and follow SustainAbility on Instagram.

The TISB LEAP Club will organise a Bangalore-wide E-waste, Footwear and Clothing donation drive together with Whitefield Ready, Budli, Trashin and Rotary Club Indiranagar. They will collect all forms of E-waste in working and non-working condition. Collected items will be refurbished and given to students at Government school for online learning. The Footwear and Clothing drive will collect and distribute items to those who need them. To ensure safety, the pickups of waste material will be entirely arranged in a non-contact manner. If you and your children would like be part of the project, contact Shreya in Grade 10, and follow LEAP on Instagram for quick updates and ways to get involved.

For individuals and families to make positive changes to restore ecosystems, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has created the Ecosystem Restoration: A practical guide to healing the planet. It is a guide that outlines three ways to get involved in ecosystem restoration: taking action, such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project; making smart choices, including buying only sustainable products and changing diets; and raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration.

During 2019, TISB engaged with the Eco-Schools programme, to embrace environmental issues in education and make change happen on a local and global level. On this World Environment Day, the programme, in collaboration with Centre for Environment Education and Young Reporters for the Environment, are hosting a webinar for students between ages 7-14 years old. The webinar is free and will take at 11 AM on Saturday, 5 June. Take part in the webinar, by clicking the Zoom link and use the Webinar ID: 846 3039 0539 and Passcode: 853421.